WINSTON AND RINGO (Montana Series 3 | BXB)

30: Eucalyptus

a / n : Readers! Beware, the second half of this chapter will be explicit, so read at your own risk. Thank you!

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The day of Youth Camp came. I was standing outside the bus, waiting for Ringo to come. Wala kaming napag-usapan na magtatabi kami sa bus papuntang Camp Hennery, ngunit nagbabakasakali ako na paburan kami ng tadhana para kami ay magkatabi.

"Pumasok na kayo para mabilang ko kung ilan pa ang kulang," bilin ni Mr. Torres.

As he said, my classmates headed inside the bus. I didn't want the others to be suspicious, so I decided to go inside as well. Ilang saglit pa ay dumating na si Ringo.

Mabilis na nagtama ang aming mga mata nang makapasok siya sa bus. We tried communicating with our eyes, weighing the situation if we could sit together. I noticed he was wearing a sweatshirt. The weather was not a good moment for sweatshirt, so I was quite curious.

"Ringo!" someone called him. It was Murphy. "Dito ka na maupo. I reserved a sit for you."

My ears instantly struck with a ting of annoyance. Napatingin muli ako kay Ringo at bakas sa mukha niya ang pagaalinlangan.

"Hey, Winston," called Bullet. "Ano pang ginagawa mo dyan? Umupo ka na dito sa tabi ko."

Lalo pa akong nakaramdam ng inis nang tawagin niya ako. I noticed Ringo dropped a heavy breath as we stood in the middle of the bus. We couldn't do anything but to sit beside our friends. Pinuntahan na niya si Murphy sa likuran habang ako naman ay naupo na rin sa tabi ni Bullet.

I could feel the weight of my heart as I sat beside Bullet. It's not that I didn't want to sit beside him, I just felt annoyed and sad for not getting the opportunity to sit with Ringo. Kung hindi lang nag-away si Andres at Bullet ay magkakaroon ako ng rason para makaupo sa tabi ng iba -sa tabi ni Ringo.

Along the way, I kept checking Ringo behind. Murphy was sleeping while leaning his head on Ringo's shoulder. I cracked my knuckles in frustration. 

"Huy? Ayos ka lang?" tanong sa'kin ni Bullet.

I turned my head to him. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Are you staring at Andres?" he asked. "Tss. Pabayaan mo na siya. Tutal, mas gusto niyang kasama 'yong baklang 'yon."

Tinapunan ko siya ng masamang tingin."Bullet, mag-ingat ka sa mga sinasabi mo. I'm sure you understand why Andres punched your face that day. It's not only because he care for his childhood friend, but also because you went too far."

Kumunot ang noo niya. "Kinakampihan mo ba siya?"

"No, I'm not. Pero kung ayaw mong mawalan ng isa pang kaibigan ay maging sensitive ka sa mga salitang lumalabas sa bibig mo."

"Fine." He rolled his eyes and turned his head to the window.

I knew he wanted to argue with me, but he had no other choice. Ako na lang ang kaibigan niya bukod sa mga teammate naming hindi rin naman niya gaanong kalapit.

Muli akong lumingon sa likuran upang tignan si Ringo. To my surprise, he was also looking at me. He gave a  smile, which made me smile as well. I gave him a sign of okay, asking him if he's alright. Tumango naman siya bilang sagot.

Ilang oras pang tumagal ang byahe. Ang iba ay nakatulog na, samantalang ako ay nanatiling dilat. I couldn't sleep because I was occasionally checking Ringo. He was already asleep beside Murphy. I wanted to go near him and support his head, but Bullet was hooking his legs to mine. Ang likot talagang matulog ng gagong 'to.